"Yeah, because when I got the initial briefing on the upside, we just assumed the gauge was broken because it was going up too fast to handle it," replied Nixon, in town to survey the damage.

The governor walked with Lininger down a mud-slicked road to a bridge over Fishing River, usually about eight feet deep.

It crested around 9 a.m. Sunday at more than 30 feet.

"That's 22 vertical feet of water," Nixon said, stunned.

"In just a few hours," Lininger confirmed.

At least 35 and possibly up to 75 homes were damaged – but no one was hurt.

Nixon credited Lininger and other first responders for their quick thinking.

"Dramatic flash floods are very dangerous, and the local folks here making the decision to evacuate was something that saved a lot of people heartache and possibly injuries," Nixon said.

Nixon wasn't sure when damage assessments would be complete.

"Everybody's always in a race to that, but especially when you have road damage as well as the tornadoes that came down in some rural areas, we're checking power lines, too," Nixon said. "You head down there, Clinton, Missouri, some pretty significant damage to the power infrastructure."

Nixon said it was too early to tell if Sunday's storm will reach the $8 million threshold needed for federal disaster assistance because so many of the tornadoes touched down in remote, rural areas.

But he added it's possible Missouri could use disaster mitigation funds to buy out some flood-prone homes in the future.

"This is a community that's well-aware the river is right here," Nixon said.

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Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon stopped by the recently closed Missouri River bridge on Highway 291 in Sugar Creek, Missouri Thursday to call on state lawmakers to pass a fuel tax hike for transportation funding.

The northbound bridge was closed Wedensday when a Missouri Department of Transportation inspection found a rusted hole through a support strut.

Nixon said the bridge is indicative of a larger problem with state transportation funding.

A storm pattern bringing thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail and high winds moved across the Kansas City metro Saturday night. Flash flood and tornado warnings were issued for the region and thousands lost power. Most power had been restored by Sunday morning.

Though there has been no major damage reported in Kansas City, the Clay County town of Mosby, Missouri, is under evacuation because of rising water, according to the Kansas City Star.